Ok, let's talk about breakdown descriptions! Now, it’s not the most exciting topic in the world, but I gotta tell ya, I’m feeling a little frisky today so…anything can happen [cue the dance music...disco style!]
The thing about breakdown descriptions? You'll want to take them with a big ole grain of salt, and I mean lots of grains of salt. Maybe the best way to get into this topic is to dig into a little history, so let’s do it. Let’s go to the breakdown services website [www.breakdownservices.com].
In 1971, a man by the name of Gary Marsh had a brilliant idea. He figured out away to become the
“go-between” casting directors and talent agents. Here’s what the website says…
1971 – Breakdown Services began! Back then there were no computers... There was no internet! Gary Marsh would go to the Studios in Los Angeles and read the only script available. Gary would create the breakdown and then hand deliver them to talent agents.
So, obviously casting directors had a need. They needed someone to facilitate a way in which the understanding of what these characters are that they were casting at the time could get out to the talent agents, who then could help them find the right actors to fill the role. That was started in 1971. Here we are – 2020 – and there are so many actors who do not understand that Breakdown Services is a subcontracted business that reads a script and comes up with the breakdown themselves [what?!].
Casting receives that breakdown in their email, reads the storyline, reads the character descriptions and then says, “Yep! That works,” and they put their stamp of approval on the breakdown.
Now, there are exceptions. Not every casting office utilizes Breakdown Services. Some casting offices may prefer not to do a wide-release on a character, instead, they may prefer to keep a short list of agents & managers that they trust handy, and when they’re casting a new character they may just come up with a quick description that works and send that information to that short list of agents & managers. But, even then, you gotta understand that the process of casting changes things! And who they end up casting for that particular role might not match that original description.
So, here are the important facts to know about breakdown descriptions:
Be very cautious about trying to match yourself to some breakdown description. In other words, when you read that description, if your mind starts thinking, How can I come up with exactly the right choices in my read to make sure that I am reflecting these certain ingredients about the character? then you’re really missing the mark. You’re operating from your head, and you’re not operating from a place that is really deeply based in story.
Let’s look at an example...
Project: Legacies (1-hr drama, The CW)
Character: Penelope Park
Breakdown description: PENELOPE PARK: Manipulative and evil, she loves every minute of being the source of drama. She thrives on chaos, doing everything she can to mess with people’s heads and shake up the status quo. Wildly intelligent, she harbors a deep shameful secret about a depressingly ordinary background. A delightful seductress and powerful witch— no boy nor girl is safe from her charms.
If you’re an actor auditioning for this role, if you’re taking this literally, that this is literally what they’re looking for and you think to yourself, Ok how do I display 'wildly intelligent'? How do I display 'she harbors a shameful secret'? How do I display being a 'delightful seductress'? If you’re thinking like this, you’re going to get soooo in your head!
Take the breakdown as nothing more than information. This nice little description of this character Penelope Park tells us that she’s dangerous, tells us that she’s edgy; that there’s something going on that she’s hiding, that’s she’s protecting. She’s a bit of a scoundrel, she likes to stir up things. She likes to get herself into trouble. These are ideas that you can start ingesting and then let your freedom of creativity start to percolate a backstory that justifies all of that information. And then? You’ve got to make it your own. Because the most important ingredient to any character that you are going to interpret and bring into a room is You. You’ve got to put your You spin on the character.
Don’t look at a character [and its breakdown description] as a firm mold that you have to fit yourself into. No! It’s not a firm mold, it’s supple clay. And you are that critical ingredient, you are the soul that’s going to fill that clay and mold it, and shape it..,.because it’s flexible.
Be good to yourself, be good to the world! 😄👍
The thing about breakdown descriptions? You'll want to take them with a big ole grain of salt, and I mean lots of grains of salt. Maybe the best way to get into this topic is to dig into a little history, so let’s do it. Let’s go to the breakdown services website [www.breakdownservices.com].
In 1971, a man by the name of Gary Marsh had a brilliant idea. He figured out away to become the
“go-between” casting directors and talent agents. Here’s what the website says…
1971 – Breakdown Services began! Back then there were no computers... There was no internet! Gary Marsh would go to the Studios in Los Angeles and read the only script available. Gary would create the breakdown and then hand deliver them to talent agents.
So, obviously casting directors had a need. They needed someone to facilitate a way in which the understanding of what these characters are that they were casting at the time could get out to the talent agents, who then could help them find the right actors to fill the role. That was started in 1971. Here we are – 2020 – and there are so many actors who do not understand that Breakdown Services is a subcontracted business that reads a script and comes up with the breakdown themselves [what?!].
Casting receives that breakdown in their email, reads the storyline, reads the character descriptions and then says, “Yep! That works,” and they put their stamp of approval on the breakdown.
Now, there are exceptions. Not every casting office utilizes Breakdown Services. Some casting offices may prefer not to do a wide-release on a character, instead, they may prefer to keep a short list of agents & managers that they trust handy, and when they’re casting a new character they may just come up with a quick description that works and send that information to that short list of agents & managers. But, even then, you gotta understand that the process of casting changes things! And who they end up casting for that particular role might not match that original description.
So, here are the important facts to know about breakdown descriptions:
- They were [often] devised by an outside entity. The breakdown was created by an independent company to provide a service, which comes up with the breakdown based on the script.
- The breakdown is nothing more than information.
Be very cautious about trying to match yourself to some breakdown description. In other words, when you read that description, if your mind starts thinking, How can I come up with exactly the right choices in my read to make sure that I am reflecting these certain ingredients about the character? then you’re really missing the mark. You’re operating from your head, and you’re not operating from a place that is really deeply based in story.
Let’s look at an example...
Project: Legacies (1-hr drama, The CW)
Character: Penelope Park
Breakdown description: PENELOPE PARK: Manipulative and evil, she loves every minute of being the source of drama. She thrives on chaos, doing everything she can to mess with people’s heads and shake up the status quo. Wildly intelligent, she harbors a deep shameful secret about a depressingly ordinary background. A delightful seductress and powerful witch— no boy nor girl is safe from her charms.
If you’re an actor auditioning for this role, if you’re taking this literally, that this is literally what they’re looking for and you think to yourself, Ok how do I display 'wildly intelligent'? How do I display 'she harbors a shameful secret'? How do I display being a 'delightful seductress'? If you’re thinking like this, you’re going to get soooo in your head!
Take the breakdown as nothing more than information. This nice little description of this character Penelope Park tells us that she’s dangerous, tells us that she’s edgy; that there’s something going on that she’s hiding, that’s she’s protecting. She’s a bit of a scoundrel, she likes to stir up things. She likes to get herself into trouble. These are ideas that you can start ingesting and then let your freedom of creativity start to percolate a backstory that justifies all of that information. And then? You’ve got to make it your own. Because the most important ingredient to any character that you are going to interpret and bring into a room is You. You’ve got to put your You spin on the character.
Don’t look at a character [and its breakdown description] as a firm mold that you have to fit yourself into. No! It’s not a firm mold, it’s supple clay. And you are that critical ingredient, you are the soul that’s going to fill that clay and mold it, and shape it..,.because it’s flexible.
Be good to yourself, be good to the world! 😄👍